Into the Depth Text Commentary

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post regarding the Episode III DVD was that my favourite feature on all the prequel discs (the depth text commentary) is superb, as always, which makes me a happy camper- especially considering I found the audio commentary to be so lackluster. They've made some changes to the site that the DVD links to but it still works OK so I'm not complaining.

One unfortunate side note is that the special web-enhanced features for the previous releases appear to be down, hopefully not gone forever. I have always considered the extra DVD-ROM features to be one of the things that make these Star Wars DVDs stand out from the pack. Most DVD-ROM material is script-to-screen comparisons, cheesy games or bad advertisements disguised as extra value content.

After seeing how SciFi has taken the web and their show sites for Stargate and Battlestar Galactica and used them for adding commentaries and what-not, I don't see why other studios can't get off their asses and maximize the potential of this whole crazy internet thing. I mean, I refused to buy the Batman Begins DVD because there was no Chris Nolan commentary and no explanation as to why. At least when X-Men came out without a Singer commentary, they gave reasons and hinted at a deluxe release somewhere down the road. Not so with ol' BB.

My fantasy (and I fully understand that it is indeed wishful thinking) is that when a studio makes a release like Batman Begins and doesn't add a commentary for whatever reason, they make one later, post it on the web for free or as a download that costs a buck or two and satusfy the fanatics like myself. It seems too logical maybe. You and I both know that it'll never happen, but I can dream.

Anyway, if you have the Episode III DVD I recommend checking the web features out. I think they're worth the trouble - just make sure your shockwave is current and that you're display settings are not cloning the picture out to a secondary media device.

mike